• It's the serious stuff for Labour types over the next 48 hours, as the party chooses a new leader and a London mayoral candidate. But for those who like proceedings infused with a tinge of comedy, the destination must be Tower Hamlets in east London. What's happening there? Let's keep this simple. Labour tried and tried to keep the man it doesn't like, Lutfur Rahman, off the list of potential candidates but he twice went to the high court, and when the votes were counted he won the contest. Everyone, including detractors, rallied around the candidate at a high-profile launch event. But this week, following serious and contested allegations reported to the party, Labour's NEC sacked Rahman as its candidate. He will now contest the mayoralty as an independent. And if he doesn't, George Galloway says he will. Yikes. But now, even people glad to see the back of Rahman are unhappy because the decision was made to replace him not with John Biggs – a former leader of Tower Hamlets council, who came second in the vote – but with Helal Abbas, the candidate who came third. Biggs has many qualities but even friends would concede that being a Muslim in a heavily Muslim area has never been one of them. He can work on that perhaps, but he probably won't make it in time.

• Still no word from the artist formerly known as Tony Blair after the claim in Prospect magazine that his most treasured possession is a letter from Rolling Stone Keith Richards backing his stance on Iraq and urging him to "keep on rockin'". No word either from Keef's people. It's all very strange. Because if Keef was in favour of the attack on Iraq, how did he feel as Mick blasted Dubya Bush and his presidential cohort on the Rolling Stones album A Bigger Bang? "How come you're so wrong, my sweet neo con" was the lyric that comes most readily to mind. This must be what they call artistic differences. Still, they keep rockin'. Good for them.

• Tony keeps rockin'. Well he does have a book to sell. And he tells ShortList magazine that he has been amused by the general reaction to his disclosure that he liked a drink from time to time. "All my friends who are proper drinkers say it's the most pathetic and sad admission that they have ever come across." John Reid was particularly unimpressed by his normal alcoholic intake of a gin and tonic and two glasses of wine. "He said that where he's from in Glasgow, they give more than that to the budgie." Tweety loves a pie and a pint.

• All sorts of questions are being asked in Hackney now following the revelations that the great CLR James's name will be excised from the title of a local library when the new building opens for business next year. Have the relatives been consulted about this, elected members asked their officers? "Oh yes," they were reassuringly informed. But let us say the officials were being slightly economical with the actualité. For as we now know, James's widow, Selma, had not the foggiest idea of what was going on; hence the latest statement from the authority. "The council has apologised personally to his widow, Selma James, for failing to consult with her on these proposals and we hope to work with her to ensure CLR James continues to be remembered and honoured." We are told that the whole issue of the name is likely to go back to square one and a proper consultation.

• Meanwhile our friend Duncan Campbell, once of this parish, emails to suggest a slogan for the protesters. With apologies to CLR James: "What do they know of libraries who only libraries know?"

• Finally, every little helps as MPs scratch around for the support of colleagues that might ease them into Labour's shadow cabinet. And every MP is seizing every opportunity to have their achievements more widely known. Barry Gardiner certainly catches the eye with his article on sustainable living, published on the leftfootforward website. But by far the most memorable thing is that between 2006 and 2007, at Defra, Barry was "Minister for the Horse".